Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-11-26
CITY AND DISTRICT.
The Arizona BOnanza, and What Il
Thought OF 10 Here.
NUGGETS OF GOLD.


SCIENTIFIC xsN sEEPr1CiL ABOUT THE REPORTS
LrHFs OF GOLD At TIE ssTrHsoNIAS-wHar GOLD
MINING PAYs-THE LONELY PRosPECroR WITH Ell:
SPADE VANISHING FRoN TEE EARTH.
The news OF a great discovery OF gold at Pres
cot, Arizona, which has been the topic OF a num-
Der OF Geographic dispatches recently has excited
considerable attention, and especially among the
scientific gentlemen OF this city who make o
special study OF minerals and mineral formation.
50 far. however, the discoveries have not been
deemed OF sufficient Importance 10 dispatch any
one 70 the locality 10 see the auriferOus wonders
for themselves. In fact the scientific men, who
are not inclined TO accept any statement hastily,
are rather skeptical about this alleged gold find
They are, according TO statements made 10 STAR
reporter, willing TO believe that gold has been
found, but not in paying ore OF the
value OF 5000 TO the ton, as tne DIS
ore OF that richness Is not found IN lhese
degenerate days outside OF Australia, wnere the
richest gold nelds OF the world are located. Even
In Australia the ore does not average that amount
Of gold and the labor and expense required 10 sep
xAte the gold from It's surrounding Is very great
cold as i Is very ays sengT Unlike Sro
many metals, it is not found free In very large
quantities. One OF the pleasing fctions OF the
ing great nuggets OF gold by lucky miners. But
the actual nds OF this character are dlstresslngy
Few. Dr. Dewey, who KNOWS All ABOUT Jne COL
lection Of gold ore and nuggets OF gold,
IN TEE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
would soon dispel any illusions entertained in re-
gard 10 picking up gold from the earth's surface
or finding Il in masses. He has n number OF cases
containing this precious metal and in one OF these
cases Is a display OF some OF the largest nuggets
found In different parts OF the world. OF course.
the actual nuggets are not there as they have
been melted up long ago, but the fac SMILES are,
al skillfully made OF plaster covered with gid
fn.r In "a an these
great masses Of the precious metals, looking Ike
rocks with their irregular shapes and their sur
faces full Of seams and creyiceS- They have the
rich yellow color OF the Australian gold. for It
seems that these trophies OF the gold mines all
come from that country. The United states Is
somewhat more modest, and the native nuggets,
fr they reach the proportions OF an ounce In
weight. may be said 10 De a very gratliylng sur,
prise 70 the miner. The boss nugget OF the world
was found some years ago In Australia IL was
appropriately named the welcome, and It's
plaster effigy now occupies the place OF honor In
the Smithsonian case with the lesser nuggets
grouped about it like the planets about The great
Ium;nary OF the universe. IL weighed 1S4 pounds
and ounces, and IL sold for $4,000. Then tnere
u one that weighed about go pounds announcer
about % pounds and so on down the scale 10 the
more common nuggets which weigh ABOUT an
ounce An ounce Of gold Is worth about go, and
10 m can readily be understood that miners do not
turn up their noses because nugget WEIGHS oni'
BIG LUMP FROM COLORADO.
In colorado a mass OF gold was found Weighing
oOl OUNCES and valued at q, 900. This was, how
ever In 1866, and the size OF nuggets since then
has shrunk considerably In company with the
premium on gold, which at the time OF the ma
was very high AT the they MIL SNOW NOW
found BY j. w. Marshall at Suffers Mill, In Cali-
fornia in January, 1S4S-the discovery that gave
Immigration to the Golden state. AT that time
nearly all the mining was what Is called placer
mining. The sand washed down Irom tne
mountain was panned or sifted and the
gole gathered together in fine particles. Every
body has heard OF gold dust, and this was what
the miners aimed from their seves Specimens OF
gold dust are in the Smithsonian collection and
there Is also q display OF the small nuggets Oh
tanned In hydraulic mining.
TUE COST OF MINING.
some idea OF the cost OF getting the precious
metal can be obtained from looking over the speci-
mems OF gold ore. There are few specimens that
show on the surface that they contain gold, but
the great majority look as unpromising as the
stones ON the street. The ore In some cases re-
and unyielding. The great power OF machinery
Is brought In play in the stamping mills and these
Unity masses are ground into powder. Then an
other process Il adopted and the agency OF mercury
as employed and the result Is an aInalgam from
which the gold Is easily obtained Yet, IL is said
that by this process the average yed Is from nsd
think, for crushing into powder ton OF granite
rock but II the supply OF ore Is only sufficient TO
keep the mills going, this yield pays handsome
profts TO the miners.
HYDRAULIC MINING
10 also rather expensive process especially when
the water Is brought from a long distance. The
water falling from a height upon a mass OF peb-
bles and stones washes II away. and the gold fall
ing TO tie bottom caught upon plates is gathered
toQesher. Even when this process yields no more
than cents TO the cubic yard IL Is said 10 give
satisfactory return. Modern gold mining may be
sad TO be expensive, yet the solitary miner may
still be round with other capital than his pick
and shovel and steve and his determination TO
make q fortune. But such cases are not 50 fire.
Quent Is In former years, and In the place OF the
solitary miner Will be found companies carrying
on operations upon an extensive sale.